Gold Member

Who has a good recipe for cooking rabbit please? My Mother gave us one today she bought us from the loacl butcher and we haven't a clue what to do with it. Neither of us have cooked one before. I ate rabbit quite a lot when we lived in Tenerife and it always seemed to be served in a sauce of some description.

I start with lightly flouring the pieces of rabbit in seasoned flour. Saute in olive oil till lightly browned then take out and set aside. To the left over olive oil add diced onions, celery, carrots,(about a cup of each) and enough flour to coat the veggies and keep stirring over med heat till the veggies start to soften. place the rabbit back in and add either veggie stock or a good white wine. Just enough to cover the rabbit and place a lid and let simmer over low heat for about an hour. Serve with crusty french bread and season with salt and pepper to taste. Always delicious!

Gold Member

CS I find rabbit meat to be really dry! So, what I suggest is cooking it on low heat for quite a long time, until the meat starts coming off bones on itself.
This is how I would do it:
1 rabbit in piaces
2-3 medium onions, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
3-4 carrots, chopped
1 medium cellery, chopped
1 cup of home made tomato juice
1 cup of read wine
1/2 of cup chicken bouillon
Lots of parsey-chopped (fresh basil is a plus, if u like)
Fry the rabbit piaces on high heat, just to get the colour out, take it out and saute the vegetables in the same oil (I find grape seed oil best for this, but you can use any). Put the rabbit with your vegetables, add the liquids and cook it for at least 2 hours(I cook it for about three), but you have to check on it. Add, slat, pepper and lots of paprika!
Make some palnta as a side dish, and enjoy!

Be careful with the salt! Rabbit is salty enough on its own and doesn't need help.

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Also added to this there are other considerations with Rabbit IMO. Rabbit is extremely lean, which means you should add slightly more fat (butter or oil or whatever you're using) than you would with other fattier meats.

I also think Rabbit tastes different at different times of year and depending on the age of the Rabbit. Unlike other commonly eaten wild mammals (Hares or Deer for instance) Rabbits don't have a mating season, but as with Hare or Venison when they are caught in season the meat can taste what I describe as "Hormonal", it isn't a strong flavour, if it is a flavour at all (I have a feeling the brain recognises it as a smell or taste even though it's probably not sensory information at all), and it isn't unpleasant per se, but can be slightly off-putting to some, even if they can't put their finger on exactly what it was that put them off. I think younger Rabbit, that is not young enough to still be a baby but not old enough to have had lots of offsrpring tends to "taste" of this less. But with Rabbits that golden age is so short and so fleeting that it's uncommon to have wild Rabbit which actually is that age and normally only farmed Rabbit can be killed at that exact point to make sure.

I think the best way to counter this is to cook Rabbit as gently and slowly as possible and be sure to include something acidic in the recipe, wine, lemon juice etc. Slow gentle cooking also has the benefit of keeping the meat in good condition for the plate as it can be delicate sometimes and more vigorous cooking can break it down too much.

Overall anything which goes with chicken or pork will likely go well with Rabbit, and in many ways it's really just another form of white meat. I tend to think white wine is better with Rabbit than red, both for cooking and to drink with it.

VerifiedGold Member

Since joining this forum, I have discovered that I haven't tried what most have. Tea, coffee, bacon sandwich etc. Now I find that all of you have ate rabbit?! I have always seen rabbits as something to cuddle personally, but for the first time I wonder what they taste like.

Since joining this forum, I have discovered that I haven't tried what most have. Tea, coffee, bacon sandwich etc. Now I find that all of you have ate rabbit?! I have always seen rabbits as something to cuddle personally, but for the first time I wonder what they taste like.

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Rabbit tastes vaguely like poultry, but it's stronger and more meaty. Mind you it's not majorly strong, but it is very succulent and can have the taste of the herbs and plants it's fed on.

Gold Member

Since joining this forum, I have discovered that I haven't tried what most have. Tea, coffee, bacon sandwich etc. Now I find that all of you have ate rabbit?! I have always seen rabbits as something to cuddle personally, but for the first time I wonder what they taste like.

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You live in the UK and you have never tried tea? Pardon, but I'm curious about how that could happen.

VerifiedGold Member

You live in the UK and you have never tried tea? Pardon, but I'm curious about how that could happen.

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I know, I know...I'm a living symbol of shame to the people of Britain...I have been told by a member that green tea is very nice though, so that is on my list of things to try before I die. Tea has never passed my lips but it will before too long!

Since joining this forum, I have discovered that I haven't tried what most have. Tea, coffee, bacon sandwich etc. Now I find that all of you have ate rabbit?! I have always seen rabbits as something to cuddle personally, but for the first time I wonder what they taste like.

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You've never had a bacon sandwich?!? Where are you living - under a rock? :tongue: Aussies add BBQ sauce to bacon (and egg) sandwiches, if you wish to try them the Aussie way.

I agree that rabbits are wonderful to cuddle, but they're also great to eat!

VerifiedGold Member

Well, the Chinese new year has recently been celebrated, and 2011 is the year of the rabbit. I cannot remember ever seeing rabbit on the menu at a Chinese restaurant. Does anybody have a recipie for an Oriental or Asian style rabbit?